Mid-Georgian Portraits Catalogue
James Watt (1736-1819), Engineer
- Gallery portraits
- All known portraits
- Biography and References
Engineer, b. Greenock; instrument maker and land surveyor based in Glasgow, increasingly devoted to the improvement of the steam engine; patented the separate condenser 1769; entered into partnership with Matthew Boulton at the Soho Manufactory in Birmingham 1774, where improved steam engines were produced from 1775, and constantly developed; a prominent member of the Birmingham Lunar Society; FRS 1785; Hon LL.D Glasgow 1806.
‘I want learning from you of various kinds, and would give you in exchange chearfulness, which by some parts of your letter, you seem to want’ (Erasmus Darwin, 1790).
‘one of the most complete specimens of the melancholic temperament. His head was generally bent forward or leaning on his hand in meditation, his shoulders stooping and his chest falling in; his limbs lank and unmuscular, and his complexion sallow ... [His eye and countenance] were calm, as if patiently investigating, or quietly contemplating his object. His utterance was slow and unimpassioned, deep and low in tone, with a broad Scottish accent; his manners gentle, modest and unassuming’ (Mary Schimmelpenninck, 1858).
This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: John Ingamells, National Portrait Gallery: Mid-Georgian Portraits 1760-1790, National Portrait Gallery, 2004, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.
‘I want learning from you of various kinds, and would give you in exchange chearfulness, which by some parts of your letter, you seem to want’ (Erasmus Darwin, 1790).
‘one of the most complete specimens of the melancholic temperament. His head was generally bent forward or leaning on his hand in meditation, his shoulders stooping and his chest falling in; his limbs lank and unmuscular, and his complexion sallow ... [His eye and countenance] were calm, as if patiently investigating, or quietly contemplating his object. His utterance was slow and unimpassioned, deep and low in tone, with a broad Scottish accent; his manners gentle, modest and unassuming’ (Mary Schimmelpenninck, 1858).
This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: John Ingamells, National Portrait Gallery: Mid-Georgian Portraits 1760-1790, National Portrait Gallery, 2004, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.